
What seminars and speakers can you expect TO SEE AT ONE OF OUR EVENTS?
Content is one of the biggest reasons SBLs attend EdExec LIVE, and our seminar programme is built to deliver exactly what they need
Our seminars are expert-led and tackle the real issues shaping school business leadership today. Sessions cover finance, funding and income generation, HR, estates, operations, procurement, leadership, change management and all the familiar acronyms such as CPD, HR, ICT and GDPR.
Each session runs for around 45 minutes and may take the form of a presentation, workshop or panel-style discussion, followed by time for questions. We build every seminar programme around the topics we know matter most to SBLs, SATs and MATs, ensuring there is plenty of choice for every role and every type of school or trust.
Speakers include practising school business managers, finance and trust directors, CEOs, CFOs, COOs, independent consultants and sector specialists. All are chosen for their credibility, relevance and ability to give you practical insight you can take straight back to your school or trust.
*Seminar topics are subject to change. Visit the site regularly to keep up-to-date with the latest.

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Not ready to choose an event yet?
If you haven't yet decided where or if to attend, but you want to get a sense of what seminars and workshops you can expect at an edexec live event, here's a selection of sessions from previous & upcoming events for you to peruse...
GUARDIANS OF RISK: Managing the risks that keep leaders up at night
How to get those risks under control without creating a bureaucratic monster
FINANCE
ICFP: The Magical Marriage of Education and Financial Planning
A smarter way to shape curriculum, staffing and budget
FINANCE
Income Generation That Matters
Practical income streams that enhance your Trust's priorities and reputation and are compliant
TRUST GROWTH
From Maintained to MAT
Assessing trust capability, capacity, and culture
FINANCE
Deficit Recovery: From Sticking Plasters to Financial Sustainability
Practical steps to stabilise budgets, rebuild confidence, and protect provision
MANAGEMENT
Boosting Your School's Reputation
Engaging the school Community through Marketing
TRUST GROWTH
A Fit-Check Framework for Joining a Trust
Assessing Trust Capability, Capacity, and Culture
MANAGEMENT
Handle Difficult Conversations with Confidence
What to say and how to say it. Clearer feedback, firmer follow-up and more consistent people management
MANAGEMENT
Tackling the Time Thieves!
Take back time across your team, reduce bottlenecks, improve delegation and cut the rework draining school operations
FINANCE
Income Generation That Matters
Practical income streams that enhance your Trust's priorities and reputation and are compliant
OPERATIONS
Framework or Fees? Buying Better and Procuring Well
Get route to market right to reduce risk, improve value and strengthen contract outcomes
FINANCE
Procurement Progression
Compliance, clarity, competition and contract performance
MANAGEMENT
Inspection Ready: The SBL’s Role in Delivering a Successful Ofsted
A guide to tightening processes, reducing panic and leading operational readiness
CPD
Final Word: What Matters Most Right Now
Panel Discussion with Q&A From the Floor
COMPLIANCE
Practical SAR Strategies for Schools and Trusts
A practical workshop on protecting time, pupils and your team
MANAGEMENT
Wellbeing That Improves Retention
Use evidence, workload strategy and culture to keep great people and reduce burnout
CPD
Claim Your Seat at the SLT Table
The value of the SBL voice and making it count
FINANCE
ICFP: The power couple of curriculum and cost
A smarter way to shape curriculum, staffing and budget
GREEN & SUSTAIN
Sustainability in Practice
Moving from action plans to measurable impact
PROCUREMENT
Procurement That Doesn’t Work
Practical guidance to avoid your tenders being challenged, derailed or quietly failing
FINANCE
School Improvement When Budgets Bite
Balancing Finances with Impact
LEADERSHIP
Happy Staff Thrive
The people strategy that took retention from 40% to 17%
ESTATES
Estates Planning – Building a Long-Term Vision
From firefighting to foresight: Tips for turning condition data into a funded multi-year plan
MANAGEMENT
Governance With Bite
Keeping Boards Strategic, Fast and Focused
OPERATIONS
SEND Reform White Paper Update
SEND Under Pressure
Practical tips for schools on the changes ahead
TRUST GROWTH
What’s Next for Trusts?
Finance, structure and leadership in a maturing system
PROCUREMENT
Procurement That Works
Strategic buying bringing consistency and value, that stands up to scrutiny
OPERATIONS
AI and Automation for School Operations
Use automation to reduce manual workload across estates, compliance and operational delivery to drive smarter decisions
GREEN & SUSTAIN
Sustainability in Practice
Moving from action plans to measurable impact
COMPLIANCE
Risk Management That Protects Your School
Build a live risk register, strengthen compliance and stay ahead of operational risk
COMPLIANCE
Lockdown Readiness and Martyn's Law
Get audit-ready on site security, lockdown procedures and proportionate compliance
GREEN & SUSTAIN
Energy Buying, Budget Control and Net Zero
Make better buying decisions, reduce waste and find practical routes to savings, decarbonisation and funding opportunities
LEADERSHIP
Leading with Purpose
Using the Golden Circle to guide teams change, culture and confidence in schools
FINANCE
Making Your SEN Budget Work Smarter, not Harder
Strategic budgeting and insight in a broken system
MANAGEMENT
Getting Strategic Value from Your Governance
Key insight to sharpen board focus, elevate reporting and strengthen decision making
COMPLIANCE
Handling SARs safely
Legal essentials and practical tools for schools and trusts
LEADERSHIP
Strategic Moves to Free Up Time and Brain-Space
Quick fix actions for smarter ways of working
LEADERSHIP
Making Tough Decisions Land Well
Five-year thinking, clear trade-offs, and keeping people aligned
LEADERSHIP
The Business of Belonging
Culture as a performance lever in schools
ESTATES
Estates Triage
How to rank, fund and defend the ever-growing 'urgent' list
FINANCE
Trust Reserves That Work Harder
Build a Compliant Reserves Policy and Cash Strategy That Protects Value and Supports Decisions
FINANCE
Sharper Challenge, Stronger Trusts
Levelling Up Audit and Scrutiny
COMPLIANCE
Protecting Staff Reputation: Legal Support in the Digital age
Managing Risk, Reputation and Response
FINANCE
Financial Benchmarking That Drives Better Decisions
Use data to test assumptions, spot risk and support clearer planning, sharper challenge and board decisions
CPD
Why Saying NO can Sometimes be Best for Everyone
A focus on boundaries, clarity and protecting your capacity
FINANCE
AI for Smarter School Finance
Using AI and cloud systems to reduce finance workload and give leaders clearer financial insight
OPERATIONS
Hidden Savings, Better Outcomes: Strategic School Catering
How smarter catering models can cut costs, reduce workload and improve pupil outcomes
GREEN & SUSTAIN
Workshop: Sustainability Strategy & Carbon Action Plan
A hands-on workshop to help your setting plan, prioritise and move forward with confidence
MANAGEMENT
Make Governance More Strategic
Sharpen board focus, improve reporting and keep conversations out of operational weeds
MANAGEMENT
The OpEx Advantage
How Operational Excellence unlocks capacity, clarity and strategic impact
FINANCE